Alberta’s small towns are notorious for their very large statues—sometimes of very odd things—and the Winter issue of AMA Insider features the biggest banger of them all.
Yes, that’s the enormous kielbasa sausage in Mundare, Alberta. This sausage is a nod to the large Polish and eastern European communities in the area—particularly the Stawnichy family, whose meat processing plant opened in 1959 and made Mundare famous for creating the best sausages in Canada.
This 42-foot-tall behemoth took four years to build and weighs 12,000 pounds! Fun fact: it can withstand winds up to 160 km/h.
While visiting Mundare in central Alberta, just east of Edmonton, you must stop at Stawnichy’s Mundare Sausage House to pick up some sausage to cook at home.
Take a walk around town and soak up the local culture through murals that are painted throughout the community. Or head over to the Basilian Fathers Museum to learn about the early days of Mundare and its Ukrainian community and culture.
Want to check out more of Alberta’s giant roadside attractions? Just a 20-minute drive down the road, in Vegreville, you’ll find the world’s largest Pysanka egg—another Ukrainian heritage masterpiece. Because everyone knows sausage and egg is a timeless combo.
If you have any stories of travelling to Mundare and visiting the large sausage, we want to hear them! Send us a message at insider@ama.ab.ca for a chance to be mentioned in the next issue.